UNSC VANGUARD (BB-107)
INTERVIEW ROOM
What passed for an interview room resembled more of an interrogation room. It was completely empty save for a steel table, two chairs and a single light that flickered from time to time. A muscular man dressed in the characteristic black uniform worn by the iconic ODSTs sat alone at one end of the table. A myriad of medals pinned on the left side of the jacket and the stripes on his shoulder denoted the greying man as a Captain with a long and distinguished service.
With a hiss of hydraulics the door on the other side of the room opened, and a woman with an ONI uniform took a seat to face him. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, black hair cut close to her head and an impassive expression on her face. The woman sighed, placing a small hollow disk on the table between them. The metallic disk looked to be the size and shape of the bagel, the hollow space in the center housing a blue crystal of some sort.
"So Captain Cinead, you were a part of Team Delta-Charlie during the recent Operation Reclamation?" She asked, of course she didn't need to ask him what she already knew but it was still standard operating procedure.
"Yoo're ONI lass, ye should know everthin' frae uir numbers to how we got our behinds kicked in by the Covies. So what do ye say we get to th' paint shall we?" The man grumbled, his gravelly voice oddly fitting with his thick Scottish accent.
Nodding once, the woman tapped a small silver button on the disk she had laid out on the table. The crystal embedded in the disk lighting but and a holographic screen burst to life between the two. The darkened room was bathed in the dim blue glow of the hologram. A series of images and video clips separated into various screens until the image and personal documentation of an young man with crew-cut black hair and a somewhat mixed but recognizable oriental features.
"Corporal Lee…Xin An?" The woman said, leaning forwards to get a close look at the name.
"Aye, lots of us struggled until the lad told us to call just him Lee." Cinead laughed, the large man giving her a huff of a laugh.
He seemed like a jolly older man, and it was no wonder he was known as 'Pappy' within the 8th Batallion.
The agent nodded and brought up another document on the hologram, this one more of a letter. "In your highly… colourful report you recommended Corporal Lee for SPARTAN IV conversion, why exactly?"
"Why? Th' lad's th' best fighter I've ever seen. If yoo've seen how he kept us alive ye would'nt be askin' me that!" The Captain exclaimed, gesturing to the video that played on the hologram that was captured by his helmet.
"Captain, while I understand his knowledge of the terrain during the Operation was what kept the both of you alive you must understand. Corporal Lee was accepted into the ODSTs in a mere year, that on its own is incredible and some suspect foul play on his part!" She cleared her throat, calming herself.
She didn't know if it was envy or otherwise but whether by fortuitous circumstances or foul play there were always these people that climbed the ladder by pure chance whilst others could spend years trying to reach higher position to no avail.
"Regardless, you must understand that no matter how well he performed on this particular mission we can't simply elevate him to S-IV status. He's barely out of ODST training as he is. We cannot turn him into a super soldier due to the results of a single operation." She sighed.
"Th' lad's a loon but th' best fighter I've ever seen, If yoo've seen how he fought to keep us kickin' ye wouldn't be askin' me that." The captain leaned forward and stared at the ONI agent, his former mirth now gone.
"Imagine us, the old fool an' the new bloke trapped behin' enemy lines wi' some forerunner mcguffin. Our squad killed an' a full week until anyone could extract us." The grizzled veteran glowered at the agent, the woman knowing full well what the man was going to say next.
"Atween th' Covies 'at combed 'at area for us an' th' jungle we wouldnae stand a chance at survivin' lit alone finishin' th' mission if nae fur him. If I remember ye were the ones that denied us support after givin' us faulty intel." He said, eyes narrowing.
Unswayed by the implication of her organization's responsibility for the deaths of team Delta-Charlie, the ONI agent nodded. She was no stranger to receiving distrust and even outright contempt when dealing with UNSC personnel. While most other UNSC branches would cooperate with ONI, they were almost never happy about it, and it certainly didn't help when a squad that ONI 'requisitioned' for their own use wound up in body bags.
"You'll be pleased to know that while we can't go through with your recommendation of immediate S-IV conversion, we will be transferring him to a separate unit in order to verify his capabilities for ourselves." The agent said, bringing up another document on the hologram.
Captain Cinead raised his hand and swiped at the hologram to zoom in on the document. "Taskforce: Pacific, Whit woods 'at be?"
"That would be classified, all I'm authorized to tell you is it has something to do with a new program involving miniaturizing warship armaments. If he performs well he'll be considered for the S-IV procedure within the next year." The agent said, closing the hologram with a swipe of her hand.
"So the lad's on trial? I suppose that's better than th' alternative." The captain grumbled, getting up from his seat.
UNSC VANGUARD (BB-107)
ATHWARTSHIP ARMORY
The metallic clink and clatters of an MA2B Carbine's mechanical inner working was all that was heard in the armory of the UNSC Vindicator Light Battleship. He had always preferred the MA2B over the standard MA5 family- the shorter and lighter build of the weapon allowing him more mobility in combat. Plus, the additional capability of the use of shredder rounds was always welcome in times of need. Rows upon rows of weapons lay full of armaments ready to be put in the hands of eager marines. Only one locker was painted charcoal black, a locker full of Special Operations Command or SOCOM equipment stocked for the famed ODSTs.
Lee's Generation 2 ODST combat Battle Dress Uniform retained only a strip of the usual charcoal black. The rest of the armour was painted in a darkened tiger stripe jungle camo pattern. Even his visor was a darkened green color instead of the usual blue-silver of the ODSTs. Given his specialization in the hazardous condition, his superiors deemed the field modification acceptable. Another piece of non-standard equipment he carried was a lengthened combat knife- more of a machete that was used for equal parts jungle clearing and shanking enemies. The blade was carried in a sheath strapped to his left bicep that ran from under the shoulder pauldron to the blade's handle at his elbow for easy drawing. He did retain his M6/SOCOM pistol but holstered the weapon on his abdomen instead of the usual hip holster.
The tap of footsteps brought his attention upwards, the sight of an ONI officer so soon after their disastrous mission brought the bitter taste of bile to his mouth. He didn't have to like this woman but he did have to respect the chain of command, and if the stripes of her shoulder were accurate the agent outranked him by quite a bit.
Rising to attention, the ODST raised his hand in salute. "At ease Corporal." The woman acknowledged.
"The Vanguard will rendezvous with the Infinity in 0500 hours, you are to pack whatever personal effects and report to Captain Lasky." The woman said, a tapping a few keys on her holographic emitter to send Lee's clearance codes.
A quick glance at the details of his posting from his helmet's internal HUD piqued the young man's interest. "Taskforce: Pacific Ma'am?" He asked.
"That information is all you need to know until you arrive at your new posting Corporal, so I suggest you get packing."
Author's note:
PM me your favorite Kancolle DD!
I just want to know for... uhhhh... data collection purposes. Yeah, that's the reason. Yup. Definitely not hinting at the next ship class to come into the Halo-verse. Nothing to see here. Move along.